U.S. patent application number 10/987582 was filed with the patent office on 2006-04-27 for tamper-proof sealing mechanism for various adjustment means.
This patent application is currently assigned to Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. Invention is credited to Pravesh Gope Hiranandani, Ramanuja Rajagopal Radhavan.
Application Number | 20060088401 10/987582 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 36206358 |
Filed Date | 2006-04-27 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060088401 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Radhavan; Ramanuja Rajagopal ;
et al. |
April 27, 2006 |
Tamper-proof sealing mechanism for various adjustment means
Abstract
A tamper-proof sealing mechanism for protecting various
adjustment/setting means comprises a sleeve (5) having cylindrical
bores on either side of its middle wall (14) for covering the
adjustment means (1, 2 & 3) from one side and sleeve locking
nut (6) or alike from another side. A spring washer (13) or the
like is provided on both the side of the middle wall (14) of the
sleeve (5) for proper nut tightening. A sleeve locking nut (6) is
provided next to the spring washer (13) i.e. from opposite side of
the adjustment means. A plug (7) is positioned on one side of said
sleeve (5) i.e. at counter bore (10) or the like to form permanent
sealing in between plug (7) & sleeve (5).
Inventors: |
Radhavan; Ramanuja Rajagopal;
(Mumbai, IN) ; Hiranandani; Pravesh Gope; (Mumbai,
IN) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Colin P. Abrahams;Suite 400
5850 Canoga Avenue
Woodland Hills
CA
91367
US
|
Assignee: |
Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd
|
Family ID: |
36206358 |
Appl. No.: |
10/987582 |
Filed: |
November 12, 2004 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
411/372.5 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F16B 41/005
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
411/372.5 |
International
Class: |
F16B 37/14 20060101
F16B037/14 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Oct 26, 2004 |
IN |
1142/MUM/2004 |
Claims
1. A tamper-proof sealing mechanism (9) for protecting various
adjustment/setting means comprising: a sleeve (5) having
cylindrical bores on either side of its middle wall (14) for
covering said adjustment means (1, 2 & 3) from one side and
sleeve locking nut (6) or alike from another side, a spring washer
(13) or alike means provided on both the side of said middle wall
(14) of said sleeve (5) for proper nut tightening, a sleeve locking
nut (6) provided next to said spring washer (13) i.e. from opposite
side of said adjustment means, a plug (7) is positioned on one side
of said sleeve (5) i.e. at counter bore (10) or alike to form
permanent sealing in between plug (7) & sleeve (5).
2. A temper-proof sealing mechanism as set forth in claim 1, in
which easy access to said sleeve locking nut restricted or hindered
by providing permanent sealing of said plug at said counter bore
and access to said adjustment means is denied by locking the said
sleeve with said sleeve locking nut against the surface/plan (12)
on which said adjustment/setting means is provided.
3. A tamper-proof sealing mechanism as set forth in claim 1 could
be used either commonly or separately for protecting various
adjustment means such as setting screws/nuts/bolts of fuel
injection pump (8) or alike mechanisms requires
authorised/recommended source for readjustment/resetting.
4. A tamper proof sealing mechanism (9) for protecting various
means for adjustment, said sealing mechanism comprising: a sleeve
(5) having two cylindrical bores on opposing sides of an inner
middle wall (14), said cylindrical bores comprising a first
cylindrical bore for covering said means for adjustment (1, 2, 3)
at a first side of said inner middle wall (14), and a second
cylindrical bore for covering a sleeve locking nut (6) or the like
at a second side of said inner middle wall (14); a spring washer
(13) or the like provided on both sides of said middle wall (14) of
said sleeve (5) for properly securing said sleeve (5); a sealing
plug (7); wherein said sleeve locking nut (6) is located adjacent
to one of said spring washers (13) or the like in said second
cylindrical bore; wherein said second cylindrical bore is provided
with a counter bore (10), which receives said sealing plug (7) and
forms a permanent seal between said sleeve (5) and sealing plug
(7).
5. The tamper-proof sealing mechanism (9) of claim 1, wherein easy
access to said sleeve locking nut (6) is prevented by providing
permanent sealing of said sealing plug (7) within said counter bore
(10) of said second cylindrical bore of said sleeve (5), and
wherein any access to said means for adjustment (1, 2, 3) is denied
by locking said sleeve (5) against a surface (12) to which said
means for adjustment (1,2,3) is provided, using said sleeve locking
nut (6).
6. The tamper-proof sealing mechanism (9) of claim 1, wherein said
mechanism (9) can be used for protecting various means for
adjustment (1, 2, 3), including any one of screws, nuts, and bolts
of a fuel injection pump (8) or the like, which might require
authorized readjustment or resetting.
Description
FIELD OF INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to provision of tamper-proof
sealing mechanism for protecting various adjustment means such as
adjustment screws/nuts/bolts of fuel injection pump (FIP) or alike,
to eliminate or avoid the possibility of resetting by disturbing
original setting of these adjustment means other than recommended
source. This will discourage or restrict users from fiddling with
such adjustment means of FIP or alike, which further affects
vehicle performance, inadequate warranty claims & various
emission norms.
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
[0002] The Fuel Injection Pump (FIP) is heart of diesel engine,
which supplies the required quantity of fuel as per speed and load
conditions. Different fueling adjustments are carried out to
achieve better vehicle performance and various emission norms
through an external access, which are described as low Idle, high
Idle and full load adjustment means such as screws/nuts/bolts.
These adjustments are determined by the manufacturer as suitable
for the vehicle and the user of the vehicle or any unauthorized
person should not disturb these settings as it may have an adverse
effect on performance. After necessary fueling adjustment at the
manufacturer's end by using a standard FIP test bench, these
adjustment means are sealed before handing over the FIP to
customer. At the same time there should be some means which gives
the indication of any changes in fuel setting carried out at the
user's end, to avoid warranty claims on fueling adjustments at user
end.
[0003] In current practices the locking (sealing) mechanism
provided by certain manufactures is not able to completely fulfill
the desired requirements. The regular practice of providing tag
wire and metal seal have not sufficiently discouraged operator(s)
from adjusting these adjustment means to their particular
desires.
[0004] There have been periodic attempts to overcome the shortfall
in the tag wire and metal system. For example, in U.S. Pat. No.
4,470,789 an attempt has been made to create a tamper-resistant
seal for discouraging unauthorized access to an adjusting screw
located in a fuel injection pump. According to this invention a
separate cover and bracket are provided to cover the adjustment
screw by using combination of studs, one-way fasteners, push-on
fasteners and the like. Although the invention could discourage
users and unauthorized personnel from tampering with the adjustment
screws, in actuality the invention is of a mechanism which is too
complicated and has a number of components which unnecessarily
increases the seal size, packaging constraints, operating costs and
time.
[0005] Another attempt has been made by U.S. Pat. No. 4,308,220 to
provide for the enclosure of the adjustment screw or the like
within a closed chamber provided by a tubular surrounding wall and
sealing plug. The mechanism under this invention can be opened by
means of a special tool which in today's scenario can be obtained
with ease giving rise to disputes as the seal would not be
damaged.
[0006] In U.S. Pat. No. 4,273,730 a tamper resistant device has
been created for a carburetor idle adjustment screw. In this
invention a cavity has to be created on the carburetor body above
the adjustment screw and a blocking pin is placed between the
adjustment screw and a plug, blocking the access to the adjustment
screw from the outer end of the carburetor. The mechanism does not
suit any other device other than a carburetor and does not prevent
manipulation of various FIP adjustment screws at the user end.
Additionally in case of any damages during authorised/unauthorized
use, to the area where the locking members are provided will cause
complete replacement of whole carburetor body.
[0007] All of the above Patents have limitations in their
applications.
[0008] Therefore, it is necessary for a manufacturer to provide
simpler, compact in design, cost effective Tamper-proof locking
(sealing) mechanism for various adjustment means of FIP or alike
either commonly or separately, which will ensure fuel or alike
setting to be done by authorized source on standard FIP test bench
only. The adjustment of fuel setting is carried out at the outset
to achieve better vehicle performance & various emission norms
forever and identification of any disturbance in fuel adjustment at
user can be easily identified to negative wrongful warranty
claims.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0009] Therefore it is an aspect of this invention to provide a
simpler, compact, cost effective tamper-proof locking (sealing)
mechanism for various adjustment means such as adjustment
screws/nuts/bolts of fuel injection pump (FIP) or alike, which will
ensure fuel or alike setting only on standard FIP test bench as per
specification.
[0010] Another aspect of the present invention is to
discourage/restrict users from fiddling with FIP fuel setting
without referring to authorized source, thereby maintaining
standard & better vehicle performance with various emission
norms forever.
[0011] Another aspect of the present invention to avoid
inadequate/faulty warranty claims created because of disturbing
original FIP fuel settings by unauthorized source.
[0012] Other aspects and features of the present invention will be
apparent to those skilled in the art, based on the following
description taken in combination with the accompanying drawings
& can be used in other sealing areas depending up on the
requirements & benefits.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
[0013] FIG. 1 shows the fuel injection pump (without engine) along
with various fuel adjustment screws; and
[0014] FIG. 2 shows at least one type of tamper-proof sealing
mechanism developed for sealing the FIP or alike adjustment
screws.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0015] To eliminate problems created by tampering of these
adjustment means pertaining to fueling adjustments of the FIP, it
is desired to have a tamper-proof seal mechanism which will avoid
easy access to these adjustment means, thereby avoiding fiddling
with these adjustment means at customer end without referring
authorized the FIP setting source.
[0016] The invention is explained in accordance with the drawings
shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, in which adjustment means (hereafter
referred as screws) Low Idle (1), High Idle (2) and Full Load (3)
are at there their respective locations on FIP (8). Each of these
screws (1, 2 and 3), are adjusted as per the specification for
better vehicle performance and various emission norms requirement,
at the manufacturer's end and locked at their final position.
Depending upon the adjustment screws locking arrangement screw
locking nut (4) may be provided on each adjustment screw (1, 2
& 3).
[0017] In order to adjust these screws (1, 2 & 3), screw
locking nut (4) has to be loosened. Therefore, by covering this
locking nut (4) by tamper-proof sealing mechanism (9), access can
be denied from unauthorized users.
[0018] According to the requirement for a tamper-proof seal, at
least one type of seal mechanism is shown in FIG. 2, in which
sleeve (5) having cylindrical bores on either side of its middle
wall (14) is mounted in such a way to cover fuel adjustment screws
(1, 2 & 3) with or without screw locking nut (4). Sleeve (5) is
locked against the FIP body (12) with sleeve locking nut (6)
entered from opposite side cylinder bore of fuel adjustment screws.
Thereby sleeve (5) is locked against pump body surface/plan (12)
covering adjustment screws and/or screw locking nut. Spring washers
(13) are provided on either side of the middle wall (14) of the
sleeve (5), for proper nut tightening. Part of the FIP body (12)
covers one side of the sleeve (5) and the other side of the sleeve
(5) is to be closed by using plug (7) having permanent sealing with
sleeve (5). Counter bore (10) or alike thing is provided on sleeve
(5) to ensure permanent sealing of the plug (7).
[0019] To adjust adjustment screws (1, 2 & 3) of the FIP access
to the screw locking nut (4) is required. As a general practice,
user may try to open this tamper-proof sealing mechanism (9) by
hammering the sleeve (5) in the direction (11) as shown in FIG. 2.
Since the sleeve (5) is fixed with sleeve lock nut (6), it will not
allow removal of sleeve (5).
[0020] The only way to get access to the screw locking nut (4) is
by removing sleeve (5). This is possible when plug (7) is tempered
by means of drilling or alike operations and subsequently unlocking
sleeve lock nut (6). In this process, plug (7) will gets
permanently damaged and user can not replace with similar type of
plug (7) and the tamper-proof sealing mechanism (9) can be seen to
be tampered.
[0021] Hence tamper-proof sealing mechanism (9), which is simpler,
compact in design, effective in cost and serviceability helps in
avoiding users from fiddling with the various adjustment means such
as screws/nuts/bolts of the FIP or alike without referring to an
authorized source. Thereby maintaining vehicle performance and
emission norms by setting the fueling or alike as per
specifications by authorized source only. Also this will reduce the
faulty claims pertaining to disturbing original FIP settings at the
user end.
[0022] As various changes could be made in the above construction
without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended
that all matter contained in the above description & shown in
the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and
not in a limiting sense.
* * * * *